The End of the Conservative Movement in the U.S.

Think about it—with this election cycle, many of the core GOP's plan to win back the presidency in 2016, was to double down, arguing that neither Romney nor, before him, McCain, in the preceding elections were conservative enough.

And as Trump began to dominate the primaries, the conservatives plaintively tried to make the point that Trump was not a true conservative, with the most prominent broadside being an issue of the National Review making the case.

In other words, the conservative plank couldn't even make it past the GOP primaries!

Karma

These quotes say it all, from an article in the Los Angeles Times, about how the GOP has found itself in its current situation with its core constituency going against the GOP establishment in its support of Donald Trump:

We’ve given the Republican Party a chance. They would have never taken the House without the tea party. We gave them the Senate. What have they accomplished? They haven’t accomplished a damn thing. – Amy Kremer, founding tea party leader

The support for Trump is not only a screw-you to the Republican establishment, it’s a screw-you to the conservative establishment. [People] are sick and tired of the same old, same old — just money corrupting the political process. They work hard, they vote for elected officials and they expect them to keep their promises. – Trump supporter

'Nuff said!

The GOP Big Tent is Back!

At last, the GOP finally is acknowledging their core constituency.

http://www.americanews.com/story/politics/2016/02/29/donald-trump-under-fire-response-kkk-endorsement

Planned Parenthood Indictments Fallout

From the Los Angeles Times:

Karl Rove, a Republican strategist and a former top adviser to President George W. Bush, has called proponents of shutting down the government to defund Planned Parenthood the "suicide caucus."

'Nuff said

"Donald Trump Blasts Time For Not Naming Him Person Of The Year"

Apparently, Donald Trump is upset at Time for not naming him Person of the Year, saying the recipient, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is "ruining Germany."

I think Trump is confused. Hitler was named Time's Man of the Year in 1938, who ruined Germany.

Perhaps Trump should wait until he's elected, and he can be chosen as Time's Man of the Year when he ruins America.

Girly Men

Studies have shown this before, but here is an article from the Washington Post that not only provides a psychological profile of Trump supporters, but also reiterates findings of studies that have found conservatives tend to be more fearful, cannot deal with ambiguity, and prefer moral certainties.

Run, Bernie, Run

I have to say that Bernie Sanders' appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert made me a bit of a believer.



No, he's probably not electable and I'm not sure at the end of the day whether he'll make a difference in shaping the conversation as we get closer to election day. But in the same way Trump's unfiltered personality has struck a chord, Sanders' unapologetic indignation on how the system has become increasingly stacked against both the poor and middle class is a breath of fresh air.

Better yet, I admire how Sanders doesn't run away from labels like "liberal" or "progressive," let alone "socialist." At the end of the day, Sanders probably sees labels as pointless, other than being an easy signpost for an electorate that really doesn't try to delve too hard into the issues. But at least he owns them and seems to be a good avatar for showing that these words have little meaning and, more importantly, aren't dirty words whose definitions and traditions have been co-opted by the right.

I can't believe that anyone watching Sanders on the Late Show wouldn't have seen good common sense in words, if not becoming a convert.

On the other side of the coin, Sanders' rumpled, angry old man demeanor has also understandably made him attractive fodder for the late night set, the most brilliant being Larry David's channeling of Sanders on the October 18, 2014 cold opening of Saturday Night Live. (When I saw David come out, I said, "He doesn't even have to act!") Whether Sanders' campaign has any legs will help determine whether David's impersonation makes him the breakout star of this coming campaign as Tina Fey's was of Sarah Palin four years ago.